MERCED, Calif. – St. Francis swept through Gregori and Hughson, dispatched El Capitan in split sets, but ultimately lost to Pitman in the tournament finale to finish second in the Gold bracket at the Central California Classic girls' volleyball tournament at Golden Valley High Saturday.
The Troubadours improve to 9-3 for the season. The two-day tournament field comprised 20 schools competing at four schools in the southernmost region of the Sac-Joaquin Section: Golden Valley, Buhach Colony, El Capitan and Merced.
St. Francis took down Gregori by a 25-20, 25-11 final, hitting a whopping .348 in the process: 29 kills against just six errors in 66 attack attempts. Sophomore Hailey Sutton led that charge with 10-0-17 hitting to go with five digs and a solo block. Layla Alexander added 8-for-9 numbers on offense without an error, with Gilly Glikman contributing another five kills with just one error. Setter Nika Jafari led the committee of setters with 15 assists while adding two aces from the service line.
The Troubies also made quick work of Hughson with a 25-22, 25-14 straight-set win. Sophomore Sophia Palmeri paced the attack with six kills and just one error for a .417 clip, contributing another two solo stuffs at the net. Libero Malia Fat led all players with nine digs, with Chloe Johnson stepping in for four of the team's 13 aces. Ellie Carpenter notched another three aces despite only appearing in one of the two sets.
The final round-robin match against El Capitan offered the first resistance. SF took the first, 25-15, before slipping to a 25-20 loss in the second. The 15-10 win in the rubber set vaulted the Troubies to the Gold championship. Palmeri enjoyed another solid match with six kills and seven digs, but this time it was senior Gabrielle Rowe who led the attack. The senior opposite powered her way to nine kills on 20 attempts. Twin sisters Nika and Mana Jafari turned in three aces apiece, with Nika forming a setting tandem with Sydney Chow to the tune of 12 and 13 assists, respectively. Chow also led with 10 digs, part of a team total of 53 in the win.
The Troubies easily won the opener against Pitman, 25-10, but managed to do so with just eight kills and a modest .148 average. The attacking numbers struggled more in the second set with six kills and seven errors for a minus-.029 success rate, dropping a 25-14 to even the match. Fortunately, SF improved to 11 kills in the third, but it fell just shy, as the Pride sniped a 16-14 win in the tiebreaker.
Chow and Nika Jafari each led the floor defense with 13 digs, meaning non-setters were handling an inordinately high number of second contacts in the transition game.
This is the second straight year that St. Francis placed second in the Central California Classic, with Pitman ending the win streak in both visits.
Meanwhile, the junior varsity team competed in the one-day Bulldog Bash at Folsom. The Troubies faced Vista Del Lago, Oakmont and Vacaville in pool play, then Whitney in bracket play, but no results were submitted at press time beyond the early morning win over the Eagles. Lili Haddad served five aces, including three in a 5-0 start to the third; while Sidney Palmeri and Layla Hernandez totaled seven kills in the first. SF beat Vista by scores of 25-13, 22-25, 15-8 to kick off the day.
All three of St. Francis' varsity, JV and frosh teams begin Sierra Foothill League play at Rocklin on Monday. Match times are 5:30 for the two sub-varsity squads (the Thunder have two gyms), with the varsity following the JV match.
SEPT. 8 UPDATE: St. Francis JV won the Bulldog Bash, with a 26-24, 25-16 victory over host Folsom in the championship. Along the way, the Troubies defeated Vista Del Lago (25-13, 22-25, 15-5), Oakmont (25-10, 25-9), Vacaville (25-11, 18-25, 15-11) and Whitney (scores not available).
